Trucker dies in Turnpike crash

Monday, September 16, 2013

BOB FORD/TIMES NEWS Emergency vehicles park on the shoulder of the road on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Franklin Township this morning, after a tractor-trailer went over a steep embankment, killing the driver.

A truck driver was killed during a one-vehicle accident this morning on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The truck reportedly went left the southbound lanes of the Turnpike and went over a steep embankment.

He was pinned inside the cab of the vehicle and was extricated by local rescue personnel.

He was pronounced dead at the scene by a representative of the Carbon County Coroner's office. The identity of the deceased was not known this morning.

The accident happened shortly after 7 a.m. in Franklin Township, about two miles south of the Hickory Run Service Plaza.

Responding were members of the Franklin Township, Lehighton and Albrightsville fire departments, as well as the Lehighton Ambulance.

A medical helicopter was sent to the scene and landed at the helipad along Route 903 in Penn Forest Township, but the trucker was reportedly deceased when rescue workers reached him.

At one point, there was concern that diesel fuel was flowing toward Lehighton Borough's water supply.

However, the volunteer firefighters as well as other responding personnel, managed to halt the flow of the fuel. It was determined the fuel posed no threat to the water supply.

The traffic flow on the Turnpike remained open through most of the duration of the accident.